By Hannah Osborne
A history maker in every right, in 1968 Lorenzo “Lo” Jelks became the first Black on-air reporter in the Southeast.
“I think that Lo Jelks, coming to WSB in the 60s, which was such a tumultuous time, really changed the face of journalism for everyone, especially people of color,” says WSB-TV’s Karyn Greer. “We had never seen anyone who looked and sounded like us in this medium, particularly in the South.
Born in St. Petersburg, Fla., Jelks career in broadcasting first began in radio. He originally came to Atlanta in 1961 to study medicine at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University), but eventually changed courses to pursue his “true calling,” broadcasting. Jelks then began working as an operating manager at WIGO-AM, an R&B radio station in Atlanta. It was while working in radio that Jelks received the call from WSB to join the station.
Jelks originally joined the WSB-TV team in 1967, but it wasn’t until a year later that he was seen on-screen. The news station chose strategically to only have Jelks’ name appear on screen for the first year that he was with the station. Anticipating backlash, this strategy allowed the station to point out that he had already been reporting for the past year, without complaint.
“To have that honor of working in that kind of environment just thrilled me so,” Jelks said to Greer, during Channel 2’s 75th anniversary special.
During his time with WSB, Jelks’ coverage included the transit system that would become MARTA, an interview with Jimmy Carter and even an interview with the head of the Klu Klux Klan.
Jelks’ presence was a monument of change and led other stations in the southeast to recognize that it was time for them to tear down any barriers that prevented qualified, talented journalists becoming faces in broadcasting. Jelks’ referred to his impact as a “tremendous responsibility.”
“Lo’s career spanned several decades and changed journalism, the face of journalism, here in the South,” says Greer. “As we try to keep holding the powerful accountable and being the best journalist we can, we recognize that Lo started all of that for us. We continue to live by his mantra and do the work that he started.”
In 1976, Jelks made the decision to leave television and began teaching, while building broadcasting services that would benefit the African American community. He started the station WAUC-AM, serving historically Black colleges and universities across the United States. He also founded The AUC Digest, serving the Atlanta University Center, which as of February 2022, he was still publishing.
Jelks was inducted into the Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame in 2022. Following his passing in 2023, Clark Atlanta University honored the alumnus by creating the “Lo Jelks Broadcast Journalism Endowed Scholarship Fund.”
“I know that if he were here, he would be tearful and think that the work he started out to do is being recognized,” says Greer.
The Jelks family was so moved by WSB-TV’s recognition of their patriarch, particularly in the final months of his life, they shared a statement after his passing thanking the station for its kindness, friendship and support of Jelks.
So often, the history makers and those that pave the way for history to be made, are forgotten. In recognition of Lo Jelks’ impact on broadcasting in the Southeast, he will be posthumously inducted to the Georgia Association of Broadcasters (GAB) Hall of Fame in March.
“Dad was truly humbled to be recognized in any small way for his work,” says Ken Jelks, Lo’s son. “It perhaps meant more to him to have influenced some young person’s life or impacted some potential path for a younger broadcaster. He reveled in sharing his experiences, to either allow someone to learn from his challenges or become inspired by his successes.”
The young Lo Jelks who moved to Atlanta to study medicine likely had no clue what his future would hold. Jelks’ career opened the door to so many who looked like him, and even more that did not. His legacy continues to create opportunities for people of color in broadcasting everyday.
“If it weren’t for people like Lo Jelks, who paved the way for management to look at people of color like me and to think that we’re capable of doing this great work, I wouldn’t be doing the things that I’m doing now,” Greer says. “He really broke down the walls, and I take a minute to thank him, constantly, for that.”
The GAB Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Emory Conference Center Hotel on March 22, 2024.
